Meaning & use
breathalyzed
Last updated
“breathalyzed” is a form of “breathalyze”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive
Tested for alcohol by being made to blow into a device that measures the alcohol level in the breath.
Grammar: Takes an object and is often passive: he was breathalyzed.
Patterns
- be breathalyzed
- breathalyze someone
The driver was breathalyzed at the roadside after swerving.
Officers breathalyzed everyone leaving the car park.
She was breathalyzed twice before they let her go.
Word forms
| base form | breathalyze |
|---|---|
| third person singular | breathalyzes |
| past participle | breathalyzed |
| -ing form | breathalyzing |
Common combinations
- get breathalyzed
- He got breathalyzed after the minor crash.
- be breathalyzed at the roadside
- Drivers were breathalyzed at the roadside.
- breathalyzed by police
- The man was breathalyzed by police outside the pub.
- refuse to be breathalyzed
- She refused to be breathalyzed and was arrested.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tested
- Tested is vague and could mean any kind of test, not necessarily alcohol.
- alcohol-tested
- This is more formal and describes the purpose without naming the device.
- checked
- Checked is very general and informal for an officer stopping a driver.
Word family
- breathalyzer noun
- the device used to test breath
- breathalyze verb
- to test someone's breath
- breath test noun
- the test itself
- breath noun
- the air that you breathe out
Commonly confused: breathalyzed or breathalysed?
breathalyzed vs breathalysed
This is the British spelling of the same word, with a s instead of a z.
Practice
The police stopped the car and ___ the driver.
Choose one answer.
Only breathalyzed is a past-tense verb that fits an officer testing a driver. The other forms are not suitable here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “breathalyzed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.